CENTER VALLEY, Pa. - Defending Patriot League Men's Soccer champion Navy landed three players on the preseason All-League team and 17 first place votes to command the top spot in 2014 preseason poll, according to the League's head coaches and sports information directors who could not vote for their own teams or student-athletes.

The Mids were recognized with a pair of preseason individual honors as well, with junior forward Jamie Dubyoski named the Preseason Offensive Player of the Year and senior defender Joseph Greenspan named the Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.

Army, selected second in the preseason poll, placed the most players on the preseason All-League team with four. Navy had three, Bucknell two and American and Lafayette one apiece. Dubyoski and Greenspan headline the 11-man squad along with teammate Derek Vogel, a junior defender. The Army quartet is led by senior goalkeeper Winston Boldt, who like Greenspan, is on the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List. Also representing the Black Knights are midfielders Justin Kim, a junior, and senior Sean Mogan along with sophomore defender Tanner Vosvick.

The preseason All-League team is rounded out by Bucknell juniors Jesse Klug and Chris Thorsheim, a forward and midfielder, respectively, American senior midfielder Stephen Hauschild and Lafayette senior defender Julian Plummer.

Navy topped the poll with 161 points followed by Army with two first-place votes and 143 points and Bucknell the remaining first place vote and 118 points. American tallied 109 points to edge 2013 tournament finalist Holy Cross at an even 100. The next five included Boston University (85), Lafayette (57), Loyola (56), Colgate (51) and Lehigh (20).

After starting the 2013 season 1-3-2, Navy (16-4-2, 9-0-0 Patriot in 2013) would not lose again until the second round of the NCAA tournament. The Mids ran off a 15-game win streak that included a perfect 9-0-0 mark in the Patriot League regular season and a pair of shutout victories in the League tournament. Greenspan, the 2013 Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year, and Vogel return to anchor a defense that recorded 11 shutouts in that stretch. Dubyoski, the 2013 Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year, scored 10 goals as a sophomore to lead the Navy attack.

Army (12-3-3, 6-2-1) graduated only one player off of a roster that started the 2013 campaign with six consecutive shutouts and only one loss in its first 14 contests. Boldt, the reigning Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Year, recorded a program-record 12 shutouts last season, while finishing third in the nation in save percentage (.888). Mogan led the team with 10 points a year ago and Vosvick, the 2013 Patriot League Rookie of the Year, added two goals and two assists.

A talented junior class will try to lead Bucknell (13-6-1, 5-3-1) into the League Tournament for a third straight season. Klug was the second leading scorer in the Patriot League as a sophomore with 1.15 points per game and combined with Thorsheim (8g, 1a) to give the Bison a top-scoring tandem. Junior goalkeeper Mike Lansing, a third-team All-Patriot League selection a year ago, posted eight shutouts as a sophomore and had an .852 save percentage.

American (7-8-5, 4-3-2) returns ten players who started at least half of the games in which they appeared a year ago. Hauschild helped anchor the midfield for the Eagles and was a third team All-PL selection as a junior. Sophomore Dale Ludwig led American in three offensive categories as a freshman, tallying 11 points on four goals and three assists.

Picked to finish ninth a year ago, Holy Cross (9-9-2, 6-3-0) was a surprise finalist in the Patriot League championship game. The Crusaders graduated four starters, but return a nucleus that includes All-Tournament team selections in sophomore forward Joey DeVivo and junior goalkeeper Kevin Wright. DeVivo led the team and was sixth among Patriot League players with six goals on the season. Wright was tops among PL keepers with 93 saves.

Senior co-captains Dominique Badji and Jordan Barker will try to lead Boston University (6-10-1, 3-6-0) into the Patriot League postseason after falling short in their first season as a League member. Badji, an All-Patriot League second team performer a year ago, finishing sixth in League scoring with a team-high six goals. Barker finished second on the Terriers with four assists last season and helped BU record six shutouts.

Lafayette (4-6-8, 2-5-2) had the second-most ties (along with UConn) in the nation in 2013 with eight, one behind USF among Division I programs. The Leopards will need to swing some of those outcomes in its favor to make a return to the PL postseason. Senior midfielder Alec Golini was a Patriot League first team performer in 2012 and Plummer a second team selection on defense a year ago. Plummer has started all 57 games for Leopards since his freshman campaign.

Seniors Connor Thompson and Joseph Cahalan will try to help Loyola University Maryland (7-8-2, 2-6-1) reach the Patriot League tournament for the first time after falling short in their inaugural season as a League member. Thompson has started 53 games and is the top returning scorer for Loyola with 10 points a year ago. Cahalan played every minute on the back line and helped the defense post four shutouts.

Colgate (4-14-2, 3-5-1) snuck in as the sixth and final seed in the expanded Patriot League Tournament a year ago. The Raiders roster has only two seniors in defender Chris Campbell and forward Tanner Schilling on the 2014 roster. Sophomore Ethan Kutler is Colgate's leading returning scorer with six points after starting all except one game as a freshman. Defender Zachary Tamen and goalkeeper Ricky Brown are another pair of sophomores who played significant roles in their first season.

With 2011 Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Year Ciaran Nugent between the pipes after missing all of the 2013 season due to injury, Lehigh (2-14-1, 1-8-0) is hoping for a return to the League postseason after failing to qualify the last two campaigns. Nugent will have plenty of help in front of him with defensive stalwart Ali Famili back for his senior season having started 48 games for the Mountain Hawks.

All 10 teams open Friday, Aug. 29. The day begins with Loyola University Maryland visiting St. Francis (Pa.) at 4 p.m. and American hosting George Washington at 5 p.m. This is followed by a half dozen 7 p.m. starts: Binghamton at Bucknell, Fairfield at Army, Fordham at Boston University, Hartford at Holy Cross, Manhattan at Lehigh and Saint Peter's at Lafayette. The opening-day action wraps up with Saint Mary's at Colgate at 8 p.m. and Navy at Air Force at 9 p.m. (ET).

Eash team will each play a nine-game League season beginning on Saturday, September 27. The top six teams as determined by the regular season will qualify for the Patriot League postseason tournament with the top two seeds earning byes to the semifinals. The No. 3 seed will host No. 6 and No. 4 will host No. 5 in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, Nov. 11. The top seed will host the semifinals on Friday, Nov. 14, and the championship on Sunday, Nov. 16. The winner advances to the NCAA Tournament with an automatic bid.